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Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Travelling round Berlin and Potsdam

The theatre at Berlin according to Jonas Hanway.

(The image is copyright the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral.)

In this week’s cathedral library blog, travel back to the year
1753, so don your tricorn, pack your clay pipe and pair of extra large riding
breeches, and join Jonas Hanway (1712-1786), English merchant and journal
writer. Hanway later became a well known essayist, philanthropist, and
apparently even was an early exponent of the umbrella in England. Some of his
published views would not be accepted today. However, his travel writing is
still of interest. He travelled on a trade route to Persia and back to England
via Russia, Germany and Holland and recorded his experiences in detail.

Amongst his many adventures, in Volume 2 Chapter 31,
Hanway arrived in Berlin, the entrance to which he described as: “airy and
elegant; the streets are regular and clean, and the houses uniform.”

Hanway gave detailed descriptions of the court of the
King of Prussia, his palaces, army, and society. After being shown around the
royal palace he visited the library “which would be deemed a mean apartment for
a common school.” However, he was
impressed by the treasures kept on the shelves including a Bible formerly
belonging to King Charles I, which had been used at the King’s execution. It
was given to the Elector of Brandenburg as a relic by Archbishop William Juxon.
He also saw a copy of the first ever Bible printed in America, a medieval
German Bible, and several manuscripts that had once belonged to Cardinal
Mazarin.

After describing the beautiful Berlin Opera House, Hanway
notes a night time court masque at which the participants dressed in various
classical costumes and staged a mock battle at which the wind blew out most of
the lamps lighting the show and a local prince managed to injure himself with
his own sword. Hanway was much more impressed with a magnificent mock battle
staged by the Prussian army outside the city, to which all the citizens had
come to watch.

Hanway noticed that Berlin was greatly influenced by
Paris, with French widely spoken by the citizens. He liked how the Prussian
capital had elegant structures and regular streets and was reckoned one third
larger than London, and yet surprisingly had only one eighth of the
inhabitants. Hanway also noted the exchange rate for future fellow travellers
reading his book. At this time it was possible to get 6 Prussian dollars for 1
English Guinea. We can only wonder at what he would have made of travel in
present day Europe.

The Arsenal at Berlin at the time of Hanway's visit.

(The image is copyright the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral)

A mile from Berlin he was shown around the Charlottenburg
Palace, and then went just beyond Potsdam to see the palace of Sans Souci. He
was impressed with the interiors of both places. However the gardener at San
Souci would not allow him to wander the grounds with his sword, commenting that
even the Prussian king would not do this. The modern tourist undoubtedly no
longer has such a problem.